Battle of Kōshū Katsunuma

Toba-Fushimi to Kai — The Shinsengumi's Final Offensive

In January of Keiō 4 (1868), the former Tokugawa forces were defeated by the new government forces at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi, and when Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu fled to Edo, the largest military organization of the late Edo period began to collapse. Amid this, the Shinsengumi plotted their own revival.

The Shinsengumi—a swordsman corps that rose to fame through the Ikedaya Incident (1864), and continued to fight for the shogunate through the Kinmon Incident and Toba-Fushimi—planned a new campaign into Kai Province (Kai no Kuni, present-day Yamanashi Prefecture) following their defeat at Toba-Fushimi. Kai Province was close to Suruga, the home base of the Tokugawa, and securing Kai was militarily significant for the defense of Edo. Furthermore, the Kai Kaidō was one of the principal trunk roads to Edo, and by controlling it they sought to delay the advance of the imperial forces.

Commander Kondō Isami and Vice-commander Hijikata Toshizō, leading approximately 200 soldiers, changed their organization's name to the "Kōyō Chintai-tai" and departed Edo on the 1st of March, Keiō 4. The former name "Shinsengumi" no longer suited the spirit of the times, and the "Kōyō Chintai-tai" was adopted as a formal organizational name in order to engage in direct confrontation with the imperial forces.

The Terrain of Kai Katsunuma and the Course of Battle

Katsunuma in Kai Province was a strategic point where the Kai Kaidō crossed over the Daibosatsu Pass before entering the Kōfu Basin. Located at the eastern gateway when viewed from Kōfu, this narrow terrain, squeezed between mountains and a river, was naturally advantageous for a small force to defend against a larger army.

However, when the Kōyō Chintai-tai arrived at Katsunuma, circumstances took an unexpected turn. The new government forces (Tosa domain soldiers led by Itagaki Taisuke) had already occupied Kōfu Castle ahead of them, blocking the Kōyō Chintai-tai's route into Kōfu. The lord of Kōfu Castle, the Yanagisawa family of Kōfu Domain, had surrendered the castle without resistance.

On March 6, Keiō 4, the Kōyō Chintai-tai found themselves facing the government forces near Hishiyama and Kashio in Katsunuma. Not only were the government forces overwhelmingly superior in number, but they were also equipped with the latest firearms.

Swordsmen with Swords Against Rifles and Cannon — The Turning Point of an Era

The most significant historical meaning demonstrated by the Battle of Kai Katsunuma is understood in the context of "the end of the age of the sword."

The Shinsengumi, led by Kondō Isami, Hijikata Toshizō, and Okita Sōji (who remained in Edo due to illness), were a swordsman corps positioned at the very pinnacle of late Edo swordsmanship, including the Tennen Rishin-ryū. In the Ikedaya Incident, they displayed extraordinary skill, simultaneously cutting down multiple opponents in darkness, and became feared as the "Wolves of Mibu."

However, at Katsunuma, their swordsmanship skill proved almost meaningless. The government forces were equipped with large-caliber artillery such as Armstrong cannons, and the latest Minié rifles and Snider rifles. When attacked from a distance that bullets could reach, even the most skilled swordsman would fall before they could draw their blade.

The battle ended in the overwhelming defeat of the Kōyō Chintai-tai. Before the power of rifle and cannon, their formation collapsed, and Kondō Isami, Hijikata Toshizō, and others withdrew from the battlefield and fled to Edo in defeat.

This battle symbolizes the end of the late Edo sword culture. It was the moment when the sword wielded by the Shinsengumi—which had cut down many of the radical factions of Chōshū in the Ikedaya Incident—was proven to be powerless. Against arquebuses, swordsmen remained effective in close combat, but with modern rifle guns, approaching the enemy became impossible itself.

The Final Days of Kondō Isami and the Death of Hijikata Toshizō

After the defeat at Katsunuma, Kondō Isami returned to Edo and attempted to establish a base in Nagareyama (Chiba Prefecture). However, in April of Keiō 4, he was surrounded by government forces, surrendered, and was transported to Itabashi (Tokyo), where he was executed by decapitation. The leader of the most formidable swordsman corps of the late Edo period met his end not by the blade, but by official execution. He died at the age of 35.

Vice-commander Hijikata Toshizō continued fighting through Edo, Utsunomiya, Aizu, and Hakodate (Goryōkaku). On May 11 of Meiji 2 (1869), he fell to gunfire in the battle at the Ippon-gi Gate in Hakodate. He died at the age of 35. The death of Hijikata—revered by later generations as a "samurai who fought to the very end"—was also caused not by the sword, but by gunfire.

Kotetsu and Izumi-no-kami Kanesada — The Celebrated Blades of the Shinsengumi

The swords favored by the Shinsengumi swordsmen were all masterpieces that cast the final brilliance of late Edo sword culture.

Kondō Isami's "Kotetsu" is well-known as previously mentioned, and Hijikata Toshizō's favored blade "Izumi-no-kami Kanesada" is also renowned. This blade, said to be the work of the Aizu swordsmith Koresada, is preserved to this day in Hino City, Tokyo—the birthplace of Hijikata—and is treasured as a precious relic of modern blade culture.

Okita Sōji's favored blade is mentioned as the "Kaga Kiyomitsu." The actual blade said to have been used by Okita does not survive, but the legend of the speed of his swordsmanship and his renown as a "master of the thrust technique" are passed down to later generations.

From this point onward, when the sword became practically rendered powerless on the battlefield of Kai Katsunuma, Japanese warriors faced the choice of "modernization or death." Some, like Hijikata Toshizō, embodied the spirit of fighting with the sword until the very end, but eight years later, the Sword Abolition Edict of 1876 prohibited Japanese people from ordinarily wearing swords.

The Battle of Kai Katsunuma was one of the last battlefields where the Japanese sword transitioned from a "practical weapon" to a "symbol of the spirit." The swords of the Shinsengumi, defeated here, would never return to the battlefield, and would eventually pass into the hands of museums and enthusiasts—such was the fate that befell the swords of the late Edo samurai.

The Memory of Kai Katsunuma — The Shinsengumi Legend Lives in Hino and Yamanashi

The Battle of Kai Katsunuma is commemorated today as the "Kashio Ancient Battlefield Ruins" in Katsunuma, Kōshū City, Yamanashi Prefecture. Additionally, in Hino City, Tokyo—the birthplace of Kondō Isami and Hijikata Toshizō—the Hino City Shinsengumi Hometown History Museum has been established, and it displays materials related to the Battle of Kai Katsunuma.

That the Shinsengumi swordsmen lived through the turbulent times of the late Edo period and fought their final battle in Kai Province is eternally inscribed in the history of the Japanese sword as the "memory of the practical combat sword."